Debris-collection vehicles, especially street sweepers, typically utilize a mechanical debris collection system to move debris and the like from a cleaning surface into an on-board debris containment unit. The debris collection system can include one or more rotating side brooms having a spatial displacement mechanism and a side broom tilt mechanism functioning in tandem to deploy the side broom to the cleaning surface, whereby the side broom transfers debris into the debris containment unit via a debris transport mechanism, such as an inlet and vacuum assembly.
One concern with side broom technology relates to the efficient and repeatable deployment of the side broom. In general, side broom deployment is a repetitive motion requiring precise knowledge of a side broom positioning and a side broom tilt angle to optimize sweeping efficiency for any given cleaning surface. This can be a difficult task for an operator who is frequently required to manually deploy, retract and position the side broom and side broom tilt angle from an operator station located in a cab on the debris collection vehicle. For this and other reasons improvements are desirable.